Bernie Ecclestone has identified the highest motive that Christian Horner was sacked by Purple Bull.
Horner misplaced his job as Purple Bull’s staff principal and CEO after the British Grand Prix final month, with the Briton subsequently being eliminated because the director of the corporate housing the outfit earlier this week.
Though Horner had a long-term contract with Purple Bull granted by the corporate’s co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz, his place within the staff had been on shaky grounds ever since he bought concerned in a high-profile sexting scandal initially of 2024.
Whereas Horner was cleared of any wrongdoing in an investigation, it’s understood that the highest administration on the vitality drinks big was getting cautious concerning the quantity of energy he wielded over its F1 operations.
Former F1 boss Ecclestone, an in depth confidante of Horner, advised that the corporate’s administration was merely at odds with the Briton.
He additionally identified that Purple Bull had no clear succession plan in Milton Keynes and was pressured to advertise Laurent Mekies from sister staff Racing Bulls to switch him.
“It was a bit like a wedding that resulted in a divorce,” the 94-year-old advised F1 Locations.
“After Didi Mateschitz’s [Red Bull founder’s] demise, folks inside Purple Bull had concepts concerning the management and path of the staff that didn’t favour Christian.
“He did an excellent job, however he was considered, similar to Max Verstappen, as somebody that didn’t have a correct quantity two.
“It’s onerous to criticise somebody who’s profitable races and championships, however there was no plan B in case one thing went mistaken with both Christian or Max.”
Bernie Ecclestone had an identical downside to Purple Bull’s
Purple Bull has grow to be closely depending on Verstappen, who has received the final 4 world titles in a interval of dominance paying homage to Sebastian Vettel’s early 2010s run with the staff.
Nevertheless, it has didn’t discover a succesful driver to associate with the Dutchman for a number of years, prompting many to explain it as a ‘one-driver staff’.
Ecclestone mentioned he confronted an identical dilemma throughout his time operating Brabham within the Eighties, when Nelson Piquet was profitable championships however others corresponding to Ricardo Zunino, Hector Rebaque and even Riccardo Patrese struggled to make a lot of an impression in the identical automobile.
Piquet received the drivers’ title in each 1981 and ‘83, however Brabham got here dwelling empty within the constructors’ struggle on each events.
“That’s the difficulty when the boss falls in love with one in all his drivers,” he mentioned. “This could trigger issues. It’s good to have two roughly equal drivers like McLaren has in the present day.
“It really works in case you can ship the very same equipment for each drivers. After I introduced Riccardo Patrese into the staff [in 1982], I advised him that we had three automobiles [one for each driver plus a reserve car] and he ought to select which one he want to drive. Then there can be no complaints.”
